US announces new Pax Silica initiative with eight nations; India not part of group

A new US-led strategic initiative, “rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies,” has been launched aimed at building a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain. According to the State Department, the initiative called ‘Pax Silica’ aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale. The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. It, however, does not include India. With the exception of India, all other Quad countries - Japan, Australia and the US - are part of the new initiative. New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of ‘People, Planet, and Progress’. The Summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South. The Pax Silica will be inaugurated on Friday with the signing of the Pax Silica Declaration, advancing US President Donald Trump’s “call for a new era of economic statecraft that produces peace and security for America and its allies through the power of private investment, free enterprise, and economics." The statement added that "additional signatories are expected to follow.”

Later in the day, representatives from the US, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, the UAE, Canada, and the European Union will gather for the Pax Silica Summit in Washington, D.C., “Together, these countries are home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain,” the State Department said. The gathering hails a "new geopolitical consensus: economic security is national security, and national security is economic security," it said. Summit participant countries will discuss jointly pursuing multilayered partnerships that strengthen supply chain security, address coercive dependencies and single points of failure, and advance the adoption of trusted technology ecosystems. They will explore opportunities to partner on flagship projects across global technology stacks, including connectivity and data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, logistics, mineral refining and processing, and energy, the State Department said. It described Pax Silica as a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain—from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. “Pax Silica is a new kind of international grouping and partnership – one that aims to unite the countries that host the world’s most advanced technology companies to unleash the economic potential of the new AI age. Pax Silica seeks to establish a durable economic order that underwrites an AI-driven era of prosperity across partner countries,” it said. Underlining a new economic security paradigm, the State Department said across the US and partner nations, a clear consensus has emerged: secure supply chains, trusted technology, and resilient infrastructure are indispensable to national power and economic growth.